When Democrat Michael Bennet was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, I knew we would have our healthy share of policy disagreements. But not so much on education reform:Fifty-eight U.S. Senators - including Colorado’s own Michael Bennet and Mark Udall - have decided to spend billions on wasteful pork projects, but can’t spare anything to keep 1,700 students from exercising the choice to enroll in a better school. What am I talking about? Bennet voted against an amendment to save the modest D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program from funding extinction. To be fair, so did most other Democrats: except interestingly, Robert Byrd and John Warner, along with independent Joe Lieberman. Only two days ago … [Read more...]
Michael Bennet Can’t Be Counted On to Challenge Obama’s Wasteful Spending
Colorado's newly selected U.S. Senator Michael Bennet is seeing his chances to stand up as an independent-minded, moderate Democrat slipping away. Even a group of 14 Senate Democrats (including Indiana's Evan Bayh) now have emerged to say "enough is enough" with Barack Obama's destructive massive intervention in the U.S. economy - his pork-laden, wild spending spree. Michael Bennet is not among the 14 Democrats showing a shred of fiscal sanity. The Denver Post's Chuck Plunkett - hardly a right-wing fanatic - asks the question on Colorado's mind: "Where are our moderates?" While Michael Bennet remains dazzled by the Obama glow, his "senior" Senate colleague Mark Udall shows what a farce his campaign as a centrist really was. Udall … [Read more...]
Intriguing… A Ryan Frazier Run for U.S. Senate Might Not Be a Bad Idea
Update, 1/23: Slapstick Politics has great analysis on the speculation and ideas for the GOP to seize these sorts of unique opportunities that 2010 provides. Face The State went deep into the rumor mill today:The U.S. Senate race recently made its way on to Republican radar after Ritter appointed the little known Michael Bennet, who at the time was serving as DPS superintendent, to the seat. Bennet’s biggest weakness right now is that he’s part of the East Coast political aristocracy. Republicans need a fresh face and a down to earth candidate to challenge him, which is why we were so excited to hear that Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier may be considering a run for the seat. “It’s fair to say that right now I’m considering … [Read more...]
Michael Bennet in U.S. Senate Creates GOP Chance–Not to Be Taken Lightly
Most likely one of the final big stories broken by the Rocky Mountain News: Gov. Bill Ritter names Denver Public Schools superintendent Michael Bennet to replace Ken Salazar in the U.S. Senate. Honestly, I never gave this possibility serious consideration. My initial impressions? Fresh and outside-the-box, obviously. Bill Ritter definitely outperformed his Democratic gubernatorial colleagues in Illinois and New York with their appointments. But Ritter also has rolled the political dice. Besides being pretty good on education reform issues for a Democrat, where does Bennet stand? The next two years of votes on big issues like the Employee Free Choice Act will define him quickly. While the state and national GOP should be perking up at … [Read more...]
Tables May Be Turning Against Denver Teachers Union in ProComp Faceoff
Negotiations between Denver Public Schools (DPS) and Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) are as heated as ever, with the performance pay plan known as ProComp still at stake:Denver Public Schools officials want an overhaul they say will better attract and retain talented teachers. The union says the current plan is fair to all teachers but that the DPS proposal would favor beginning teachers over veterans. Three days of mediation are set to begin Aug. 20, and the union has told teachers to prepare for a strike if no agreement is reached. In essence, the district's proposal is too radical for the union, which thrives on its perceived role as a defender of teacher security and must appease many of the more veteran teachers … [Read more...]
Denver Teachers Union Moves One Step Closer to Possible DNC Strike
Another landmark yesterday in the fallout between Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, reports the Post's Jeremy Meyer:Representatives of Denver's teachers union and school administrators — embroiled in a contract dispute — met with a professional arbiter Wednesday to discuss next month's mediation. The two sides are at odds over compensation and time issues, particularly in regard to proposed changes to ProComp — the voter-approved performance pay system for teachers. The story continues:With mediation the week before the Democratic National Convention in Denver, there is concern of picketing during the event to bring national attention to the contract dispute. The DCTA newsletter has declared … [Read more...]
Professional Teacher Organization Leader Condemns Denver “Sick-Outs”
In a letter at the Denver Post, the executive director of the Professional Association of Colorado Educators (PACE) offers his opinion about the recent "sick-outs" in Denver Public Schools:It is disheartening to see some Denver teachers abandon the children they teach, instead choosing to participate in “sick-outs†and “park-outs†to protest the district’s generous and unprecedented offer. Sadly, for these individuals the education of children is not a priority. Districts and communities deserve the opportunity to invest in hard-working, quality teachers who are committed to educational excellence and should be able to reward teachers for the important work they do. Teachers deserve an association which promotes the … [Read more...]
Best Destiny: How Not to Respond to the Taxpayers’ Courtroom Win
Yesterday's Colorado Republican State Convention - with key video at Slapstick Politics and a great recap from Night Twister - was bolstered by the announcement of the taxpayers' legal victory against Gov. Bill Ritter for his unconstitutional property tax hike. But Michael at Best Destiny has some sage cautionary advice for Colorado Republicans on how to respond to Friday's courtroom decision:Republicans MUST NOT go out in public and seem too giddy about this. They should talk about checks and balances, and limiting the governor's ability to act unilaterally, and the majority's clear disregard for the Constitution. But if they seem like they're just glad to have the money taken back by the general public, it'll be a lot harder to … [Read more...]
Rogue Denver Teacher Bloggers: Is It The Beginning of Something New?
Nowhere in Colorado is rank-and-file teacher dissent with the union so apparent as in the heart of Denver - for a multitude of reasons that cannot begin to be explored in this brief post. But an increasingly strained contract debate with the school board (Barack Obama alluded to it in his speech yesterday) - after the board offered a substantial raise as part of a progressive compensation system. Now a new splinter teachers group with an online presence has emerged in Denver (H/T Alan Gottlieb). It would be great to see these teachers continue posting on the blog they started. Interestingly, the local union president hasn't posted anything to her blog since this splinter group has emerged. The National Education Association, to which … [Read more...]
Denver Teacher Sick-Out … An Action Not Exactly “For the Children”
Some Denver schools are suffering today because unionized teachers organized a sickout, reports the Rocky Mountain News (H/T Complete Colorado):Not a single classroom teacher showed up for work today at Academia Ana Maria Sandoval in northwest Denver, forcing the principal to scramble to cover classrooms. All 16 classroom teachers plus a music teacher and the librarian called in sick, said Principal Debra Lucero Kraft. "I didn't have any warning," Kraft said. "I don't know what the goal is so I can't really speak to whether or not that accomplished their goal ... but certainly I'm not sure if leaving your students without a teacher is a way to address contract negotiations." Substitute teachers were found for all but five classes … [Read more...]